


Twisting and Trolling

by Strange and Intoxicating -rsa- (strangeandintoxicating)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), Alternate Universe - No Powers, And Akira Kurusu is a troll, Editor Akira Kurusu, Goro Akechi is still an angry bitch, M/M, Mystery novelist Goro Akechi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:22:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26234119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangeandintoxicating/pseuds/Strange%20and%20Intoxicating%20-rsa-
Summary: Mystery novelist Goro Akechi has a lot on his plate.He's having a lot ofissueswith his newest series about a detective and a gentleman thief— or, more aptly, Goro is dealing with a very insistent online troll who seems to have the unnatural ability to guess all of Goro's plots... and write very long, very detailed meta in regards to exactlywhatDetective Robin Crow and Joker should be getting up to in the dark.Will the mounting tension between Goro and Joker20XX get the best of him?And just what does his new editor, Akira Kurusu, have to do with any of this?
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 22
Kudos: 81





	Twisting and Trolling

**Author's Note:**

> I fully blame the Persona Palace discord for this.

Mystery novelist Goro Akechi absolutely and unequivocally _loathed_ Joker20XX. 

Of course, it hadn’t begun that way— when he’d first set up his social media accounts, he’d thought that Joker had been nothing but a very devout fan. The posts, the occasional art doodle, even the meta discussions on the characterization and themes behind Goro’s novels… it’d been the first taste of being an author, and Goro couldn’t have been more happy than that. 

What self-respecting author wouldn’t have felt that way? 

Most of their interactions had been pleasantries and emojis on pictures Goro put up of his daily rotation of restaurants and cafes. Joker had a particular fondness for posting back pictures of the same well-worn coffee mugs and curry in response to Goro’s pancake photos.

Considering Sae Niijima, his agent, had told him the stories about authors being sent death threats and harassment (as well as boxes showing up to Niijima publishing with locks of hair and razorblade cookies) Goro was more than happy to have the chibi characters drawn on paper napkins and the occasional meta post about the meaning of the crow and joker motif. There’d been even an absolutely fascinating essay about the tarot card deck that Joker carried along with him, with some symbolism that even Goro hadn’t originally known.

The other readers, while enthusiastic, had nothing on Joker, but as long as he was responding to Joker, he knew that he had to respond to the others. 

Goro had picked up quickly that keeping his readers engaged was one of the best things he could do to keep himself— and by extension, his novels— in the public eye, and it didn’t take more than a few minutes, likes, and comments to keep them engaged. 

If he slipped blog posts and news articles and promos for his upcoming novels into his social media, it was only expected. He was a writer, after all. Not a particularly famous one— yet— but he was slowly building up his persona and bibliography.

It wasn’t until Goro had begun writing his new series, _Phantom Thief of Hearts_ that he’d caught any sort of actual traction. 

Sae had suggested that Goro read the first few chapters of his newest novel out loud on his youtube account, and that was kind of the end of Goro’s small, sheltered world. His novels had jumped up in the rankings, the preorders for his next novel exploded, and the number of hits on his video spun up so quickly Goro could barely see straight. 

There was absolutely no reason why _The Phantom Thief of Hearts_ had caught on so quickly. None at all. 

But it _had_. 

It was a simple enough premise— Detective Robin Crow was a minor background from his first series, _The Detective Prince_ , who had risen in popularity due to his rather antagonistic relationship with a thief known for stealing the hearts and treasures of the corrupt underbelly of the Tokyo elite— the ever-elusive Joker. 

The first book of the series was the first time Robin Kuro and Joker officially met. It was part murder-mystery and a cat and mouse game between detective and burgler, with Joker helping to lead Robin to who murdered the famed Japanese painter Ichiryusai Madarame all the while plotting to steal the man’s maiden work, the Sayuri, back from the killer. 

If Goro were honest with himself, part of the reason Goro had taken a liking for Joker20XX at first wasn’t just because he seemed to be a rather devoted fan. 

No, there was something else.

While Goro absolutely would deny having gone through the other man’s metaposts if for no other reason than to stave off the accusation that a fan had somehow affected his writing, there’d been something in the way that Joker seemed to _get_ his characters that few others really did.

Except that Joker’s theory on his namesake was _dead wrong._

Joker wasn’t _meant_ to be a sympathetic character. He was, without question, a villain. 

Sure, he wasn’t as deplorable as those he stole from, but that was one of the fascinating things about him. Joker’s moral compass was twisted beyond belief, his sense of justice tarnished by his actions of theft and his belief that true justice meant righting wrongs in any manner possible—legal or otherwise. 

Joker considered himself a modern-day gentleman thief, but Detective Robin Crow could see right through him, just like Goro did. 

It was exactly why Goro loved to write the back and forth game between Robin and Joker, because he already _knew_ that Joker was irredeemable. Their ideas clashed so harshly— the absolute thesis and antithesis to one another— and as a writer, Goro couldn’t have asked for a more fascinating pair to write about.

Still, no matter how much sympathy some of his readers, like Joker20XX, had for Joker, the truth remained the same. At the end of the day, no matter what, justice would win and Joker would fall.

Which was exactly _why_ the feelings of fondness had changed to the point where Goro could say that he would have happily thrown Joker20XX off a roof, in front of a train, out of a plane 30,000 feet in the air while it flew over the Pacific ocean. 

If there were sharks swimming below, that would have been even better. 

That goddamn youtube video had been the beginning of Goro’s rise to fame, but it also had… unintended consequences. 

Goro glanced down at the video— now a year and a half old and two novels past, but just looking at the comment and its 3.1k likes made Goro’s blood boil.

**_Joker is Justice. (￢_￢;)_ **

Annoying, sure, but that wasn’t the problem. No, the problem had come with his second post, one that Goro had quickly deleted seconds after Joker posted: 

**_Madarame’s not dead btw_ **

**_You’re gunna frame the pupil aren’t you?_ ** **_(~人^_** )

  
  


Bastard. 

Goro never had the desire to punch one of his readers before, but Joker20XX? 

Goro wanted to do more than punch him. 

There was absolutely, _positively_ , no way that Joker had figured out the surprise twist that quickly. He must have done something— hacked Goro’s computer, went through his emails, maybe even stole a copy of the book from Niijima Publishing. 

There was absolutely _nothing_ in the first three chapters that gave away that Madarame had actually tried to frame his youngest pupil for his murder to cover up how he’d stolen the art from his pupil’s deceased mother. 

Goro hadn’t even _mentioned_ the pupil in anything but passing in the second chapter, so how was it that Joker had figured it out? 

Had it been that once, maybe Goro could have passed it off as a fluke. But when Joker started dissecting the sample chapter at the end of the first novel, correctly guessing like the worm he was that the next book would involve Joker’s juvenile life and how he was framed for assaulting a crooked politician and was left to the torment of an unjust penal system, Goro had thrown the novel out the window and wrote an entirely _new_ one just to spite his online menace. 

Of course it had been awkward as all hell to rework the already-published chapter into a new story, but Goro had figured out a way to do it. 

Too bad it wasn’t until _after_ he wrote it that Goro realized he’d written himself into a fucking corner.

Originally, the second entry was meant to be Robin uncovering the truth about Joker’s past and how they’d actually met as teenagers under the backdrop of a yakuza boss’s staged suicide. Instead, he’d swapped it out for what was meant to be the fourth entry about the Olympian turned coach found strangled with his own medal. 

That novel was meant to be fourth for a reason—Robin was meant to find out that he’d known Joker as teenagers in the second novel, yes. There was supposed to be a certain level of trust meant to build between the two so that when Joker turned and betrayed Robin in the third novel— choosing to help a world-renowned international hacker and abandon Robin for his supposed _justice_ — it would be easier for Robin to come to the correct assumption that Joker was more than just a little involved in Suguru Kamoshida’s death in the following novel. 

There would be some that sided with Joker either way. Goro _knew_ that. Joker20XX was a perfect example of a person who believed in the ultimate _good_ of Joker instead of what he truly was meant to be.

Of course, the content of the original fourth novel would undoubtedly make some think that Joker was doing the right thing. The crime of pedophilia and sex trafficking would overshadow the participation in murder, with Joker’s motive being seen as helping two young victims cover up a crime of passion rather than a direct confrontation against Robin for his failure to save his childhood friend.

But that was _wrong_.

The entire fourth book was built upon the lynchpin of their entire relationship set forth in its entirety in the second book— Joker’s idea of revenge outweighing his supposed justice. He allowed his anger and pain from Robin’s supposed abandonment of him as a teenager to destroy the foundation of their friendship and rivalry, setting Joker up for the ultimate fall from grace.

By swapping the second book for the fourth book, it undermined everything that Goro had written, effectively creating Joker into a victim trying to protect others from the tragedy that was his youth after his false imprisonment and abuse by the judicial system. 

That meant that the entire fifth novel, where Joker murders a corrupt CEO in cold blood and promises to destroy the politician and the country that ruined his childhood, would come off as a broken man making bad decisions instead of the purposeful descent into evil that it was meant to me.

And the sixth, final book, where Detective Robin Crow and the elusive Joker face off in a battle of minds and guns, ending with Joker’s death after killing the politician who had destroyed his life, Goro could all but _hear_ Joker20XX screaming that Joker was a misunderstood, tragically morally gray character.

That was, in Goro’s opinion, pure bullshit.

But, of course, it was a lot more difficult _now_ , because Goro had gotten angry at an online troll and completely upended the flow of his entire series for _reasons_. 

He’d expected Joker to say something about the structure of the now-second novel when it was released, and Joker definitely _had_. But the thing that had caught Goro entirely off-guard was _what_ Joker had decided to cling to.

**_So, when are Joker and Crow going to kiss??? (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)_ **

What. The. Fuck.

What was even worse than that comment was the fifteen page analysis on why Goro had _clearly_ changed the second novel (because who delays their upcoming novel by nearly seven months after already putting out the first chapter?) and then came the thirty-two page essay on why Joker and Robin were clearly going to fuck before the series was done.

And it wasn’t just once or twice— no, Joker20XX seemed to make it his entire life’s mission to drive Goro completely and utterly batshit insane.

He never stepped over the clearly-defined boundary between being an online troll and a real-life stalker, but it was getting to the point where Goro was contemplating calling in a few favors to find out where Joker lived so he could throw a few bricks through the fucker’s window.

It was, in fact, directly because of Joker that Goro was now in Yongen-jaya, staring at a small cafe just off the beaten path from the station, the cool October air brushing against his arms. 

Why Sae had chosen this place, Goro didn’t particularly know. It was a decent distance away from both their homes and the agency, but getting out of the house and away from his computer for a few minutes was important. 

Goro had spent the better part of the last two weeks staring at the draft of the third novel that he had to gut and tear up because he was an idiot and Joker was an asshole. Why had he been so dumb as to fall for that trap? 

And… why had Sae _let_ him do it?

Goro sighed, reaching up to rub his eyes. What Sae did… only Sae knew why. He tightened his grip on his briefcase before stepping inside the shop.

The soft jingle of the bell over the front door and the smell of coffee and curry greeted Goro’s senses, the soft chatter from a nearby television shattering the silence. 

“Welcome,” a soft voice called from just beyond Goro’s eyeline, somewhere in the kitchen. “Sit wherever you’d like.” 

Goro took a look around the shop, at the three empty booths and the equally-empty counter, before glancing down at his watch. Sae said she’d be at the shop by two, meaning he had at least fifteen minutes before she showed up.

He took the second to last stool at the counter, resting his briefcase on the well-worn wood. Coffee rings and little knicks littered the surface, making the place feel almost _warm_ in comparison to the near-clinical cleanliness of his own apartment. 

Just as Goro sat, the barista peeked his head around the corner, wild hair and too-big glasses and a smile that made the man look almost _familiar_ catching Goro off guard. 

“Um,” Goro said lamely, voice catching in his throat. The man was very, unreasonably attractive. Goro wasn’t sure if it was the eyes or hair or voice, but there was something about him that made Goro trip over his words. 

God, he felt like he was eighteen years old again, instead of being nearly twenty eight. 

“You lost?” 

Goro shook his head and gave what he hoped the man would take as an apologetic smile. “Ah, no. I’m… waiting for a colleague. She told me to meet her here.” 

“Oh.” The barista’s smile softened as he walked forward, wiping his hands on his apron before pushing his glasses up. “Well, what can I get for you while you wait?” 

Goro looked up at the chalkboard above him at the list of countless coffees that meant very little to Goro. He enjoyed coffee— what self-respecting author didn’t— but… He laughed a little as he looked back down to the barista. “I seem to be a little overwhelmed.” 

The man nodded his head, undoubtedly having heard the same thing countless times. “Well, do you prefer sweet or bitter?” 

Goro didn’t know why, but the question felt far more loaded than just asking about coffee. Shrugging the thought off, Goro rested his elbow on the counter and leaned forward onto his hand, almost like a challenge.

_Why did it feel like a challenge?_

“I’ll leave that to your discretion.” 

There was something in the barista’s slate gray eyes that made Goro feel downright _peculiar_. It was almost as though the man in front of him was looking _into_ him rather than _at_ him, as though Goro were a particularly interesting puzzle that had wandered into his cafe for him to solve.

Or, maybe, this was just how baristas behaved and Goro had his mystery novelist hat on too tight. He’d been cooped up in his house for a little too long. 

There was also the chance that the man had noticed Goro giving him the once-over, and that look was somehow, blessedly, one of interest.

Frankly, he liked that option better. 

Goro looked away maybe just a little too quickly, opening his monogrammed briefcase to pull out his laptop. He tried not to glance back up at the barista, but it was almost as though they were playing a game. Every time Goro glanced up he caught the barista look away. 

He was probably bored, Goro finally settled on as the man sat a cup of perfectly-made coffee in front of him, turning the saucer so Goro could grab it with his right hand. 

It was a little more than satisfying to turn the cup at a 180 degree angle so he could take it with his left hand. If, nothing else, it seemed to surprise the barista. 

“Oh, sorry.” 

Goro only laughed as he raised the cup to his lips, gently blowing on the drink. “Don’t be. Ninety percent of the population is right-handed.” 

“So you’re saying you’re a rarity?” 

“Well,” he replied breezily, “I guess you _could_ say that. I prefer the term one of a kind, if it’s all the same to you.”

Goro took a slow sip of the coffee, letting the flavor and profile wash over him. It was sweet, but not too sweet, a rich earthiness balancing out the bitter undertones. It was good— really good.

No wonder Sae told him to meet her here. The coffee was excellent and the staff was delic— 

No.

Wait. 

The barista laughed, soft and light, and Goro was incredibly thankful that his mouth was full of coffee and he hadn’t actually said what he’d been thinking. Still, from the way the other man was looking at him, he guessed that he had some kind of idea. 

“Well, I’ll take you not spitting it out as a sign of a cup well-brewed?” 

Goro nodded as he put his cup down. “It’s delicious, thank you.” Then, with far more aplomb than Goro really felt, he reached over the counter and extended a hand to the barista. “My name’s Goro Akechi. It’s lovely to meet you.” 

The man pushed up his glasses again before chuckling and reaching out to grab hold of Goro’s hand. It was warm and soft, save for the callouses. 

“You can call me Akira.” 

For the first time in weeks, Goro wasn’t thinking about Joker20XX at all. 


End file.
